Title :
16%-efficient GaAs solar cell after 1015 cm-2, 1 MeV radiation
Author :
Bertness, K.A. ; Ristow, M. Ladle ; Klausmeier-Brown, M.E. ; Grounner, M. ; Kuryla, M.S. ; Werthen, J.G.
Author_Institution :
Varian Res. Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Abstract :
Efficiency and related device parameter data are presented for p-n GaAs solar cells before and after irradiation with 1 MeV electrons for a total fluence of 1015 cm-2. The post-radiation efficiency of most cells dropped to 75% of the pre-irradiation value. In separate experiments, the effects of base doping and emitter thickness were investigated. A base doping around 1×1017 cm-3 gave the highest 1 sun, AM0 efficiencies both before and after irradiation at 22.0% and 15.9%, respectively. Reducing base doping levels to 1×1017 cm-3 and decreasing the emitter thickness to 0.3-0.4 μm for p-n cells led to improvements in radiation hardness as measured by EOL/BOL (end-of-life/beginning-of-life) efficiency ratios for irradiation of 10 15 cm-2 electrons at 1 MeV. Emitter thickness had a less dramatic effect on efficiencies and radiation resistance, with the optimum thickness appearing at about 0.28 μm. These results are supported by modeling calculations
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; electron beam effects; gallium arsenide; semiconductor doping; solar cells; 1 sun AM0 efficiencies; 15.9 percent; 22 percent; GaAs solar cell; base doping; electron irradiation; emitter thickness; p-n GaAs solar cells; radiation hardness; radiation resistance; Doping; Electrons; Energy conversion; Gallium arsenide; Histograms; Ionizing radiation; Photovoltaic cells; Semiconductor process modeling; Testing; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1990., Conference Record of the Twenty First IEEE
Conference_Location :
Kissimmee, FL
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1990.111811
